Car door



J. GARRETT CAR nookv July 28, 1925. 1,547,210

Fle'l Dec. 9. 192A 4 SheetslSheet 2 July 28, 1925.

, 1,547,210 J. GARRETT CAR DOOR File'dn. 9.- 1924 4 sheetsLsheet s #@VQ l 645401 v1 ma,

July 28, 1925.

J. GARRETT CAR DOOR Filed De. 9. 1924 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 abbot we 11 Patented July 2s, 192s.

UNITED STATES JAMES GARRETT, F MADISON, WISCONSIN. y

CAB DOOR.

Application tiled December 9, v1924i.4 Serial' llv'o. 754,877,

To all lwhom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, J AMES GARRL'rr, a citizen of the United States, residingl at Madi- 4 son, in the county of Dane and State of Wiscousin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Car-Doors, of which the followingis a specification. This invention relates broadly to an i'mproved car door having more specific reference to the type of doors used upon freight cars.

More specifically, the invention relates'to novel means for locking the door in closed position, together with an auxiliary air device or system, constructed for permitting the locking meansto be released-and controlled from the engineers cab.

In carrying out the invention, I propose to provideian air system,vwhich embodies an auxiliary air'conducting pipe for a conduit, which is made up of a horizontal' pipe for each-car, these horizontal pipes -being coupled together,-and there being an individual pipe in which a valve is located, for controlling the passage of air into a cylinderlocated in the car, and arranged to operate a release device,ftopermit opening of the door. In other words, I provide an air pipe, which, when the air is on, serves to automatically o rate releasing means which is in association with the door locking means.

As will be seen later, the present invention is embodied in two diiferent forms of slight-` ly varying design, one embodiment being for a slidin door, and the other embodiment being for inged closures or doors of the kind used upon refrigerator cars.v

The various featuresand advantages derived from their use will become apparent as the description goes on.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this application, an in which like numerals are e ployyed to designate like parts throughout t e same:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a fra ent of a freight'car, showing the body, siding door mountin etc., together with the improved invention.

Figure 2 is an enlarged detail section,

taken substantially on the plane of the line 2-2 of Figure` 1, showing the mechanism constituting the locking and releasing device.

Figure 3 lis a section through the casing and-mechanism, the same being taken approximately on the line 3-3 o f Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a transverse vertical section, take; on the-plane of the line 4-4 of Figure I Figure 5 is an elevational view ofone corner of the sliding door, showing the rack and bar ywith which it is uip d.

Fi ure 6 is another detail view of means l.

provided for frustrating prying of the door.

Figure 7 is a detail perspective view of one of the parts of the releasingl device.

Figure 8 is a detail perspective view of a pawl.

F igurev9 is a detail view, partly in elevation, and artly in section ofthe engineers control va ve,

Figure 10 is a side elevation of said control valve.

" Figure 14 is a section, taken approximate ly on the line 14-14-of Figure 13. Figure 15 is a perspective view, of a different form of pawl.

Fi re 16 is a detail perspective view yof a loc 'ng bolt.4

Figure 17 is adiagrammatic view of piping, forming a part of the air system, used in conjunction with this invention.

Figure 18 is an inside view of .the Ilocking means seen in Figures 12, 13 etc.

nasmuch as the invention embodies two different embodiments, I believe it well to describe these separately, in the order that they appear in the drawings. For instance, the first embodiment will be found to be disclosed completely in Fi res 1 to 8 inclusive. The other embodiment is set out in Figures 12 to 16 inclusive, and also in Figure 18, I will therefore first Adirect attention more particularly to Figures 1 to 8 inclusive. l t

Confning attention more particularly to the views s ified, it will be seen that the reference c aracter 1 designates'generally the bod of a freight/car, provided in one side wit the usual door opening, surrounded by the door frame 2. At the top of the door frame is a suitable guide for hangei` means 3, upon which the roller of a bracket t is slidably mounted. The bracket and roller are carried by the sliding door 5. This structure is conventional and constitutes no part of the invention.

ln carrying out the invention, ll provide a rack bar 6, on' the inner face of the sliding door, at the top thereof, as indicated in Figures l and 5. The teeth of the rack bar are adapted to mesh With the teeth of a rotatably mounted pinion 7, arranged Within a casing 8, mounted in the door trame, as indicated.

The casing may-be of rectangular design, and the present instance, it is formed in the front tace with a slot, through which the peripheral. teeth of the pinion T protrude to permit them to mesh with the raclr bar, as more plainly seen in Figure 2.

As better illustrated in Figure el, the pinion is equipped with an integral ratchet Wheel 9, the pinion and ratchet being freely rotatable on the horizontal shaft l0, extending crosswise oi the casino. Acting in association with the ratchet Wheel is a pivotally mounted pawl ll, which is loosely mounted t'or rotation u on the shalt l2, Within'said casing.. fis sliown in Figure 8, this pawl is provided on one side with 'a projecting pin l2, which serves a purpose to be hereinafter described. l would direct attention at this time to the tact that a manually moi/ed lever i3 islpiyotally mounted between its ends upon. the atoresaid shaft l2. Vis shown in Figure 7, this lever is pro vided with a lateral lug le, of conical form. This lug is intended to engage beneath the par-fi tor moving the seme in a direction to disengage its points from the'ratchet teeth,

permit retrograde movement ot the pinion. The lever i3 entends outwardly through a slot in one Wall of the casing and the outer end thereof is provided with an aperture l5, to which pin lo or chain i7 is adapted to pass. The pin, in turn, may he electrically secured in one ot the apertures the gear i8 on the outside oi the eesii l desired, the retaining lever i3 "Mangold in the inc-*Efectivo position Eure 2 2 lt is olovious, however that hy removing the pin lo and swinging oi the loyer a direction tot, the conicel portion le therethe under curved side ot the i, the tree end thereoi het teeth.. Thus, the pawl can its reto-.ming t reverse rotation the is necn rif to open the the the position esonero ly devised ior use in connection with the improved locking means,

llfhile the air system .could be constructed otherwise, it preferably comprises an auxiliary air supply conduit, which extends troni one end off the train to the other.` The conduit is actually made up oi a series oi horizontal ll? (see Figure 17), there being a pi, e for each car. The pipes are coupled together, in any convenient Way, by appropriate couplings 20. Extending upwardly from each pipe 19 is a vertical pipev 2l, in which a hand operated valve or cock 22 is located. rlhis supply conduit is connected, at one end, to the usual main reservoir 23, and it extends through the engineers cab, in any appropriate manner, and in the cab a control valve 24 is located. `l/lhile on this control valve, l would direct attention to Figures 9 and-'10, wherein l have illustrated thev valve in detail. The valve itselt' may comprise the usual coupling, and rotarv turn plug, the latter being pro= vided with operating handle 25, with an indicator 26. The tree end of the handle 25 is intended to be conined between a pair ot spaced parallel ears 27, which are rovided with openings, through Whiclra loc ingA pin 28, on a, chain n29 is passed. The J.tree `end of the locking pin is apertured, and an a propriete seal 30 is connected thereto. e seal serves, in the usual Way, to indicate unu authorized tampering with the control valine. As has been hetero stated, and as will. be seen later, all ot the cars in the line may be controlled from this so=called engineers control valve. The `srs-called air system also embodies and air cylinder 3l, located in each casing El. "lhe vertical valved pipe 2l supply air to the cylinden lneach cylinder is a spring conduit plunger, the g2 oi which extends through one the e* l1 der, and engages the laterally d rec' ends oi a pii/otally mount-e c connected ,t Y. elly di oo inder 31, the piston or plunger will be moved in a' direction fromright to left and its rod 32 will push against the arm 34, to rock it about its central pivot, in amanner to force the part 35 in an opposite direction from left to right. In so doing, the forked end ofthe last named member will disengage the pawl 11, from ythe ratchet, to permit rotation of the pinion 7, in a direction from left to right. Thus, in addition to the manually operable release means controlled from the interior of the car, I provide automatic air controlled means operated from the engineers cab for disengaging the pawlfand permitting rotation of the pinion 7 in a direction `to permit opening of the door. Directing attention to Figure 1, it will be seen that the vertical edge of the sliding door is provided with a V-shaped pocket 37, into which the LV-shaped lug 38 is adapted to be vreceived (also see Figure 6). These details serve to maintain the rack bar in effective mesh, with the pinion, and prevent prying open the door. If desired, the door 5 .may be equipped with a plate 39, (see Figure 1), having a tongue 40 to eX- tend across the valve operating handle 22, to prevent movement of the latter in a predetermined direction. i

Directing attention now to the other embodiment of the invention, as seen in Figures 12, 13 and 14, etc., it will be seen that a refrigerator car body is represented by the reference character 41. In this form of car, a pair of hingedly mounted doors 42 are provided, one door overlapping the other, in the usual way.I Ap ropriate locking means 43 is provided for t e overlapping end. In this form of the invention, overlapping sections of the door is provided on lts inner sideand adjacent its top with a keeper, in the form of a socket 34. This keeper is disposed on a horizontal plane, and the upper ortion of the inner face thereof is bevel ed as indicated at 45, (see Figure 13). Adapted to be seated in this keeper is a sliding locking bolt 46, mounted for sliding movement within the casing 47 mounted on` the door frame or carbody, as shown in the last named ligure. The locking bolt 46 is of elongated `rectangular design, being frame like, in design with a central transverse partition 48, Vforming an abutment. The lower end of the bolt is bevelled as at 49, to provide a nose for reception in the keeper. Appropriate retaining bars or guides 50, are mounted in the casing. Like the first form of the invention described, both manual and air controlled means is provided, for releasing the locking bolt. The air release means, in the present instance, comprises a lever 51, which is pivoted between its ends 0n the pin 52, the free end of the lever projecting into the locking bolt and engaging the abutment the sliding locking bolt and disengaging it from 'the keeper 44 and permitting opening of the hinged door., In addition to the air operated means I provide the manually operated arm 56, which is pivoted between its ends on the foresaid pin 52, the free end thereof being engaged with the abutment 48, and the opposite outer end thereof passing through a slot in the casing 47, and cooperating with the apertured end 57, so that it may be selectively hel-d in a stationary position. Asin the other form of the invention, a locking pin 58 is provided for this purpose, and if desired, a seal 59 may be used. In both instances, the pistons are returned to inoperative position by means of springs surrounding the stems thereof and confined within the air cylinders. Any air that is left in the cylinder will be scattered therefrom and returned through the pipe 31. In order to release this air, the valve 22 may lbe of the special design seen` in Figure. 11. As illustrated, I simply provide a two way rotary plug, and an air escape port in lthe valve casing. When the major or large port of the plug is turned crosswise, as seen in this figure, the air from the main supply pipe is prevented from passing into the aforesaid air cylinder. However, by disposing the small right angular ports, 'in alignment with the passage as seen, surplus air can esca e from the cylinder through the small a igned ports, in anv obvious manner. In both forms of the invention, as the closure of door is moved to closed position, the locking means automatically locks it in such position, and the door cannot be opened unless the release means is operated. In one instance, the manual release means may be operated from the interior of the car for permitting opening of the door, and in the other instance the yair can be turned on for simultaneously releasing all of the locking devices in the various carsfrom which the train is made up. If, atany time, it is desired to prevent the passage ofair into anyone of the cars, the valve 22 in the respective pipe 21 can be turned ofi'. Under normal conditions, however, all of t-he valves 22 will remain open, so that when the main control valve is opened, all of the'doors will be released, to permit them to be manually moved to open sition.

I be ieve that after carefully considering the detailed description, in conjunction with the drawings, persons skilled in the artto which the invention relates will able to obtain a clear understanding of the oonstruction and method of operation. In View of this, a more lengthy description of the invention is thought unnecessary.

While l have shown and described the preferred embodiment of the invention and the particular arrangement of details, I wish it to be understood 'that any changes coming Within the field of invention claimed may be resorted to,r if desired.

I claim:

1. In a struct-ure of the class described, a casing, a shaft extending crosswise of the casing, a pinion mounted upon said shaft, a ratchet wheel carried by said pinion, said casing having a slot at one side thereof through which the teeth on said pinion roject, a pivotally mounted dog arrange in said casing and cooperable with said ratchet wheel for compelling rotation of the pinion in one direction, a manually moved strip mounted adjacent said pawl and having means on one end for disengaging said pavvl 'from said ratchet, an. air cylinder mounted in said casing, a plunger slidably mounted in said cylinder, 't' e rod of said plun er extending'through one end of the cyln er, an arm pivotally mounted in said cylinder, said rod being engageable with said arm for moving it upon its pivot, and a connection between the opposite end of said arm and the aforesaid dog or disengaging the dog from the ratchet when the piston is moved i-n a predetermined direction in said cylinder.

2. ln a structure of the class described, a casing adapted to loe mounted on a relatively stationary part, a keeper adapted to be mounted upon the relatively movable part, a' locking holt slidably mounted in said casing and adapted for reception within Said keeper, a cylinder mounted in said casing, a plunger slidably mounted in said cylinder, a spring for moving said plunger in one direction, the stem of said plunger extending slidably through one end of said cylinder, anv air pipe connected with the other end of the cylinder or moving the plunger in an opposite direction, a pivotally mounted lever, said plunger rod being ivoted to one end of said lever, the opposlte end of the lever being engaged with said locking bolt, for disengaging the latter from said keeper, and an additional hand operated lever pivotally mounted in said casing and engaging with said locking holt.

In testimony whereof l aix my signature.

JAh/.IES GARRETT.

Witness:

FRED FOREMAN. 

